Who Are You?
by Addictedtobooks
Summary: Kaldur calls Nightwing to meet with him at the warehouse about their under cover mission. With specific orders not to bring Wally, Nightwing is starting to worry. News of Artemis comes up and Batman's protege is forced to meet with the retired speedster. One-shot. This was written as payback to a friend on tumblr. Enjoy and please leave a review :)!


If there was one thing Dick Grayson continually worked on it was saving people; especially his friends. There was a reason he had to keep practicing though. The masked boy waited anxiously in the warehouse for Kaldur. He was supposed to be there ten minutes ago and the raven haired teen was starting to worry. Perhaps beginning to worry more excessively was a better way to put it.

Dick had begun worrying the minute he had received Kaldur's message to meet him - without Wally. That was enough to send the boy's mind whirling. That was enough to know something had gone horribly wrong.

His ears perked when he heard the click of the door. He didn't dare move out of the cover of the shadows though, he waited until the former Aqualad came in sight. He slowly, as if being cautious, slunk out of the darkness, "Kaldur."

"Nightwing," The other boy responded, nodding his head in greeting. "Thank you for being able to come."

Dick couldn't wait any longer, "What's happening, Kaldur?"

The boy's eyes closed, clearly uneasy. He was unable to look at his old friend. "Something... something has happened."

Nightwing almost lost his sanity, almost snapped at the older boy, but tried his best to reign in his reactions. "_What_ happened?"

The darker skinned boy's eyes met the whites of his mask. His bright teal eyes swarmed with something Nightwing recognized like an old friend. Guilt. "Kaldur, _what happened?_" he repeated, his voice urgent and demanding. He knew, he'd pieced the puzzle together but he would not believe his assumptions.

"Artemis... her necklace was ripped off. Her and the Terror Twins were sparring and she wasn't careful enough." Kaldur had clearly rehearsed this, his voice held eerie calm but expression showed upmost terror.

Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose, "So, what? We knew it was a possibility. We... practiced this. You were supposed to imprison her if that ever happened. _Which is exactly what you did._" Nightwing's voice was slowly becoming more edgy by the second.

Kaldur's eyes never left his friend's face, "We both know if that was what happened we would not be here."

The black haired boy clenched his fist, his knuckles begging to smash into something. Anything. "So what then?" his voice had turned to just a whisper.

"Artemis was killed."

"By who?" Nightwing questioned. He felt as though he was falling, the sensation sending his senses and brain into overdrive.

"My father. He claims that it is not my fault that I did not react accordingly. He does not believe that I knew."

"Good." Nightwing mumbled, as he slowly processed what was said. "The mission can still be salvaged."

Kaldur suddenly looked even more worried and Dick felt he knew why. "Will you be the one to tell Wally?" A stiff nod came from the younger hero. "Okay. Please, tell him I tried, and that I am sorry." and with that the double agent made his way back to the door. "I'll be in touch again soon."

Nightwing hears the slam of the door and suddenly he's whirling, his fist crashing into a crate that had been next to him. Artemis was dead.

And now he had to face Wally.

When Dick went to surprise visit his best friend he usually found a creative entrance. The two of them were normally on good terms though, something that had changed once Artemis left to go on the mission. He decided the front door would be a better choice.

He knocked and waited for what felt like an eternity, every minute was more antagonizing. When Wally opened the door though, Nightwing found himself wishing to be back in those minutes of agony.

The red-head's eyebrows rose when he saw who was at the door and he backed up a step, letting the dark figure walk through. "What?" he asked, closing the door and turning to glare at him, "Do you need me to fake my death and go under cover too?" He pondered spitefully, his tone laced with sarcasm. The way the words rolled off of his tongue felt strange, unnatural; he'd never spoken to Nightwing like that seriously before.

"No." Nightwing stated calmly, still very uncertain on how to tell the speedster what had happened.

"Then why are you here?" Wally spat. He had distinctly told Dick the last time they had talked that he didn't want to see him. Not until he had news about Artemis. Green eyes grew a little, excited by the fact that he could very well have information. He began to look happy, which greatly confused Nightwing. "Is she coming home?"

Batman's protégé cringed, and Wally's face fell. "No. She...She's not." _He looks like a lost puppy, _Nightwing noted. He hated every second of this. Torture, is what this felt like. Torture of the worst kind imaginable. "Wally, she won't be coming home."

"What do you me-"

"At all." Nightwing added, eyes closed as he cut his friend off. A heavy silence hung in the air as Wally's mind began to process what the past Robin said.

"What?" He snapped, grabbing Dick by his shirt roughly. "Explain. _Now._" he growled under his breath.

Dick's eyes popped open; surprised by what was happening. He had expected Wally to be sad, upset, and a touch of anger. Nightwing had figured the anger would come later. Of course he was wrong. He never expect anger of this extent. He looked down, his friend's fists tangled in the front of his shirt.

"She's dead, Wally," he whispered. He felt the two fists loosen and he watched as the speedster's face changed. It fell, his glare ceasing only for his green eyes to slowly brim with water.

Wally clearly didn't know how to react. All the weight he had carried since Artemis left came crashing over, weighing down his chest, constricting him. "No." he sputtered angrily, pushing the boy's chest as hard as he could. "You're lying. She's alive!"

Nightwing stumbled back, catching his balance before he could completely fall. "It's the truth. Her necklace fell off, and Kaldur's father... killed her." he said, relaying the message Kaldur said. "Kaldur says he tried to imprison her, but he couldn't blow his cover. Wally, he's sorry."

Wally blinked, and then his glare was back tenfold, "You have got to be kidding me!" Nightwing flinched again as his friend yelled.

"The mission is still a g-"

"Are you even realizing what you are saying anymore!?" Wally snarled, cutting off the younger boy. "Artemis is dead, Dick. Yet all you _still_ care about is your mission. You do understand that you are not only putting yourself at risk, right? You are endangering others too. The mission is not worth the costs. This mission was not worth the cave, was not worth your team getting kidnapped, and this mission was certainly not worth _Artemis` life." _Other than these last few days Nightwing had never seen him yell so much. "It's your fault she's gone." Wally started again, his angry tone was replaced by grief. Sadness trickled from his voice.

Along with the anger and sadness Nightwing also picked up on something else in Wally's expression. Disappointment. "Kaldur's sorry, but are you? You're turning into him, Dick," Wally spoke softer now, but his eyes were still set in a heavy glare, "You're turning into Batman."


End file.
